Vaclav Jiru exhibited artistic images in the Czech camera clubs alongside Sudek and others beginning in 1926, and also worked as a photojournalist for such periodicals as Picture Post, Liliput, and Wochen-Blatter. An incredibly prolific photographer, he published twelve books and, in 1957, he founded the review Fotografie. However, following the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, he was fired as editor-in-chief for refusing to support the puppet government. After serving two years in prison, he was never able to revive his career. He died in 1980. His nephew, Jiri Jiru, maintains a museum in his honor.